The race against myself
by CJ the Turtle
Summary: SI. After an accident in 2011 I wake up in the mass effect universe, have I really travelled across the multiverse or am I going crazy? Considering I'm seeing hallucinations of myself I'm assuming the second one. Either way, I'm definitely in trouble. R&R
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Like a good 60% of writers on this site I've been infected with the SI bug, you can inevitably thank ****iNf3ctioNZ, Herr Wozzeck and Sarge1995 for that considering the brilliant (and extensive) work that they've done. Like their stories this one is a bit of a slow burner (not gonna be helped by my slow writing), so have patience and know that I have a plan for all this (not saying it's a good plan, just saying it's a plan). Now that's enough subtle self-deprecation for the time being, on with the poorly thought out show! Oh yeah, Not too surprisingly I don't own mass effect or any of the characters contained therein, Bioware does. Well done Bioware. If I did I promise you I wouldn't be here, I'd be using bags of cash to cause all kinds of trouble at the zoo. Hope you enjoy (the story, not the zoo).**

Chapter 1

"I really can't be fucked with this", I say as I stare at myself in the mirror. Black hair, hazel eyes and a nine o'clock shadow stare back at me with a pleading expression, almost as if my face is asking me not to go out on this afternoon jog. I'm around 5 foot 9 tall and with a slightly above average build, I'm not some kind of He-Man or fitness freak but I want to join the police eventually so I have to maintain some level of fitness. Without that goal driving me I guarantee you I would be playing my Xbox instead of gearing up for a run down the country roads surrounding my house.

"Let's get this bullshit out the way then", I mutter as I plug my iPod in and set it to random.

As per usual the exercise isn't as bad, as I inevitably expect it to be, once I get going. In fact I quite enjoy listening to my music and getting my heart beating. I'm very easily influenced by my music and as soon as _Mr Brightside_ pops up I smile and increase the speed of my run to match the rhythm of the song. I know this isn't the best song in the world but who doesn't get at least a little pumped up when it plays? I can feel my legs start to burn and my lungs ache as I push myself harder than I should down the winding country roads. I can see a crossroads ahead and I usually slow down for it but there's never any traffic on these roads and with the song being almost over I want to keep my pace up for as long as the song can motivate me. I decide to push ahead and I barrel straight over the cross roads. I immediately regret this decision as I see the van hurtling towards me.

"Shi-" I begin to say, but am cut off before I can finish my panicked curse. There are a lot of things I should do in this moment. Getting out the way of the oncoming vehicle would be good. Hell, I would settle for some clever last words. All I manage however is to begin my swear word and make a silly, cringing face as time seems to slow around me. I tumble over the bonnet as the van's breaks squeal in protest. I can feel the bones in my hip shatter and my ribs crack as I continue to roll and bounce to the ground. It's all over in a matter of seconds but the pain makes it feel like hours. As I slip into unconsciousness I can't help but appreciate the irony as Muse appears as the next artist on my iPod and begins to play the song _thoughts of a dying atheist._

I've fallen unconscious before and it's not like this. This is something else entirely. I'm not sure where I am or what's happening, only that everything seems to be more ethereal, as if I'm floating in darkness. Despite all of this I can still feel the overwhelming pain of my twisted body and my broken bones. Oddly enough this gives me comfort.

"_If you can feel pain then you're not dead"_ I think to myself.

Without warning I'm subjected to visions of death and destruction that rip across my mind, I can feel thoughts and demands clawing at my brain and demanding my obedience. With so many of these visions and voices assaulting my consciousness I begin to lose track of everything, I can't focus on what I'm doing here and I even start to lose my sense of identity. All I can think about is the unceasing insistence of my servitude. I begin to panic as my mind seems to be drifting apart and begins to fracture, my thoughts and memories becoming scattered and ill-formed. Suddenly I feel the pain of my body and it jolts my awareness enough that I can focus myself again. Before my mind becomes scattered for a second time I force myself to focus on the pain, on every shattered bone piercing my body and every screaming nerve. I begin to reform my mind, clinging to memories of my life and the ones I love.

"_My name is Chris Clements!" _I scream in my own mind, _"I love my family, I love my friends, I live in England AND I WILL NOT DIE HERE!"_ I cling to these flashes of thought s and feelings as if they're a life jacket at sea, and slowly they become my shield against the psychic onslaught. As I repeat these thoughts the visions fade from my peripheral awareness. As I regain my composure and relax slightly after the onslaught, I notice that I have no idea how much time has passed. The visions could have been assaulting me for minutes or even hours, for as far as I know. Gradually I begin to notice slight differences to my awareness, faint sounds penetrate into my awareness and I immediately focus my attention on the outside stimuli. It takes a great deal of effort but slowly I can feel myself rousing from this dreamlike state.

I begin to open my eyes excruciatingly slowly, at first it's an effort to force myself into wakefulness but soon enough I become aware of my surroundings. I'm lying in what appears to be a hospital bed in a small, white walled room. Not too surprising considering my run in with the van previously. I suddenly remember what I've been through and realise that after what happened I should either be in a body bag or a full body cast. Instead there's barely a scratch on me! While searching myself for signs of injury I feel a tug on my arm as I accidentally pull out the IV that was in my arm. I give my arm a cursory inspection but then I notice what seems to be a metal circle grafted onto my palm. Despite a growing sense of panic my curiosity wins over and I touch it, this immediately rewards me with light shooting up around my arm and a holographic interface appearing.

"_If I didn't know any better I would say this is an omni tool"_. I think to myself

"Bingo" says a voice, almost as if in response to my thoughts.

I sharply turn in the direction of the voice and am greeted with the sight of what appears to be...well...me.

"The fuck?" I whisper in confusion.

"Chris, I'm gonna have to ask you to bear with me on a couple of points here." My duplicate abruptly begins "We don't have a lot of time and pretty much everything I have to tell you is well within the territory of bat shit insanity". I simply stare dumbly at him for a few seconds "I'm just gonna take that as a cue to carry on" he continues "firstly I want to let you know that you've not gone crazy...much. Secondly I promise I will explain everything and answer all your questions later. Lastly, we need to get out of here NOW and to do this I need to ask you to trust me and do as I say. Can you do that?" the other me asks.

I continue to stare at him blankly until I finally conjure an answer for him

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" I shout as I glare at my second self. I shift so that I'm sitting on the edge of the bed and I place my head in my hands. "Oh God, I've gone balls out crazy" I whimper. The duplicate sighs and responds with.

"So you've decided to ignore everything I said? Great, well not to sound like a broken record but I will explain everything later ok? I'm not sure if you've noticed but this isn't the best place to be having this conversation!"

"Oh I don't know" I respond harshly "If I'm gonna go mental and quite literally have a conversation with myself, I think a hospital is as good a place as any! Christ, I suppose I should probably be thankful that you're not an eight foot tall rabbit named Harvey!" The extra me looks somewhat impatient as he replies

"Well as much as I love that movie, we need to rush this mental breakdown of yours along. What I really want you to focus on is that this isn't a hospital Chris" he asserts, "look at your shirt, how many hospitals label their patients with tags like that?"

In response I look down at the white pyjamas that I've been dressed in. The tag **Subject 117 **is sewn onto the right breast of the shirt. I also see on the left breast what appears to be an elongated orange hexagon.

"That looks familiar, what is it? Is that, the Cerberus insignia?" I ask in confusion.

"Yep" my double responds "and the other tag should be evidence enough that you're a test subject here, not a guest!"

I can feel fear slowly begin to build and a tightness in my chest begins to take hold. "_Omni tools, Holograms and Cerberus. Am I in Mass effect? The mass effect universe?"_ I think to myself_ "How the hell did this happen? __**What the fuck am I going to do?**__"_

At this point the other me confidently states. "Well I've already said I'll explain everything later and as for what you're going to do, just follow my instructions and we'll get out of this in one piece. Trust me." After a moment of hesitation I respond with

"Did you just read my thoughts?"

"LATER! I will answer your questions later! Seriously, what part of that are you not getting?" He sighs exasperatedly "they're going to notice that we're awake VERY soon so we need to get going already! C'mon man I've been planning this for months and this is the ONLY chance we're going to get! EVER!"

I look at the holographic me and my fear and confusion are making me want to tell him to blow it out his ass, but then I notice the door has **Subject 117 **printed on the door. I've never been one for mad scientists, and Cerberus was never really an organisation that treats its test subjects very well, so I reluctantly decide to trust him, for now. I look him in the eyes and sharply nod my head.

"Brilliant! Now I should probably mention one last thing before we get started" at this point my double looks somewhat hesitant as he seems to be choosing his words carefully at this point. "This may go slightly against what I said earlier, about your lack of insanity, when I tell you that I'm not...actually..."the other Chris' comment tapers off as he seems less and less likely to finish his sentence.

"Well spit it out already, I thought you said we had limited time here!" I demand.

After another few seconds of reluctant silence he looks me in the eye and quickly states

"I'm not physically real" a statement he promptly proves by waving his hand through my knees at the edge of the bed. His hand meets no resistance as it touches me and I feel nothing as his arm passes through my legs. Before I have a chance to respond he quickly asserts "as I said before, I'll explain later, just know that I can't touch anything physically. However, I can interact with electronic systems, and trust me here, that's gonna be useful pretty soon!"

For a few moments I blankly stare at him before I sigh and respond with

"Y'know what? I'veknown you all of five minutes and I've already had enough of getting confused by your explanations, so until this is over and you explain everything, I'm just gonna let this wave of insanity wash over me." This receives a relieved look from the not-real me and I continue "before we go ahead with your plan though, I want my things"

"Hmmn" he responds, "I hadn't considered that. Not to worry though as they should be where we need to go first" he smiles reassuringly at me, "thanks for bearing with me in this, I know it's a lot to take in." His demeanour suddenly shifts to a more serious one "but we've already wasted enough time, to begin with I need you to follow the blue line" at this point a glowing blue line appears on floor, almost simultaneously to him giving the instruction. In fact the line seems to be fairly reminiscent of the objective marker from dead space 2. Filing away the question of how he managed to make that happen for later, I weakly stand up and start following the line to the door of the room. Standing at the doorway I compose myself and with my heart thundering in my chest I reach forward and press the holographic interface.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Nothing happens. I press the holographic button for a second time, again there's no change. I can hear the other me sighing with exasperation behind me.

"How many pro-human splinter groups do you think have testing facilities that leave their test subjects in unsecured rooms? Just give me a second" as he impatiently chides me, the omni tool grafted to my left arm springs to life. A couple of seconds later the holographic interface on the door turns green and it slides open. "There, NOW you can go through"

"Well I guess that's another thing I'm gonna have to ask you about later" I indicate to the now inactive omni tool "and I'm sorry if this stuff is a little new to me" I shoot back "it's not like kidnapping is a regular occurrence for me". I step out of the room into a corridor, like the previous room the walls are white and if I didn't know any better I would say that it was just a hospital. After checking for anyone else I set off following the blue line that my duplicate created. "Where are we going then?" I ask in a whisper.

"You wanted to get your things and they're just down this hallway, there" as we round a corner he gestures to a seemingly unimportant room. I enter and can see what seems to be some kind of filing or storage room with hundreds of containers built into the walls. It almost reminds me of a room full of safety deposit boxes.

"So what now?" I ask

"Well, your things should be in your box. As well as what I wanted us to get" there is a moment's pause as we both stare at each other until he impatiently gestures and says "go on then, get on with it".

"I'm still waiting for you to tell me which box is mine!" I argue back. With a slight laugh my hallucination points to the box labelled **117. **"Oh", I look down at the identical numbers sewn into my shirt. "Probably should have worked that one out myself" I mutter. I open the correct box and pull out the drawer housing all my items within. Everything seems to have been separated into sterile plastic containers with biohazard labels on them. I'm a little insulted by that to be honest, I thought I was a fairly clean bloke all in all. I rummage through the items and can see that the majority are ruined, presumably from the van accident. My family ring and St Christopher pendant are both in fairly good nick, so I equip them accordingly. The clothes and watch I was previously wearing are a write off, completely smashed and covered in blood stains. I rummage through the rest and find my phone, iPod and glasses are all unusable now. While looking at my decimated glasses it suddenly becomes apparent that I don't need them to see.

"Wait a sec, why don't I need glasses anymore? What happened to my eyes?" Before my companion can compose a reply I continue "I know, I know. You'll tell me later" This receives a nod and a smile from my counterpart. I pick up my iPod and look mournfully at the tattered frame.

"Oh, I can help with that" the other me happily asserts. The omni tool flashes on again for a brief moment and he looks at me and states "just downloaded everything onto the omni tool, you shouldn't need that anymore".

"Thanks, I guess" I drop the now irrelevant iPod then look up at him again before asking "so what do I call you? I mean I need to be able to refer to you as something other than what I assume is a hallucination brought on by stress" this question seems to throw him off balance as he looks confused at first before clearly being at a loss for words.

"I don't really have a name to be honest, I haven't ever thought about it before". After a few moments of contemplation he continues tentatively "What about the name you said earlier when you were having your hissy fit?"

"In my defence I think I'm handling this freight train of implausibility quite well. But which name was that?" I query. "Because I've said some fairly inappropriate names since I've woken up".

"Harvey" he asserts "I like the sound of that" the newly named Harvey smiles at me.

"My imaginary friend wants to be called Harvey? There's got to be some kind of copyright infringement there" I joke, gaining a smile from Harvey.

"Well as nice as getting acquainted with you is, I'm thinking we should probably crack on. We're wasting time again" Harvey states.

"Alright alright, what do you want me to do now I've got my stuff?" I indicate to my recently acquired ring and pendant. At this point the omni tool activates.

"I just need you to wait a sec while I download all the medical records that Cerberus has on you. Including what they did to your eyes" at the bottom of the container that I got my things from is a data pad that springs to life. Text and images flash across it as the information is transferred to the device on my arm. "I thought you would like to know what's been done to you since you've been here. It'll make explaining all of this easier later. Done" Harvey beams at me with a self satisfied grin "only three more stops until we are out of here"

"Three places? Really?" I query "I thought we had limited time. Sounds like you want to take the guided tour of this place!" I stare nonplussed at Harvey as he cocks his head and smiles reassuringly at me.

"Don't worry about the details Chris, as I've said before I've been planning this for almost a year! I've got it all mapped out and we've only eaten into a little of the extra time that I planned as a buffer in case we got slowed down by anything" Harvey smiles confidently at me "We've got this in bag Chris, just keep calm and carry on". He gestures theatrically to the exit, where the faint blue trail is now leading out of.

I roll my eyes at Harvey and start following the highlighted trail. This time it leads to what seems to be a lift, after inspecting the interior I step in and look quizzically at Harvey. In response he simply smiles and the omni tool once more activates, causing the elevator to ascend.

"Show off", I mutter jokingly.

The elevator doors open to reveal a lavishly decorated corridor ending in an imposing wooden door. I wander down the hallway and marvel at the decor, clearly this floor is reserved for someone important.

"I take it this is the boss's floor?" I ask

"Got it in one", Harvey answers "same deal as last time, just want you to retrieve some info that will make things easier later on". With that explanation I approach the door and can see the inscription of **WILSON** carved into the framework, that name sounds familiar but I don't spend any time dwelling on it. I turn the handles of the door and enter the room. After the lavish hallway I'm not surprised to find a room filled to the brim with unnecessarily expensive crap, surrounding a desk that's so big I'm assuming there's some kind of overcompensation going on. I circle the desk and start opening drawers.

"Stop that", states my companion, "this one's on me". The omni tool on my left arm flares up and a holographic terminal activates on the desk. Much like in the storage room, information flicks across the screen as it is clearly being downloaded onto my own device's memory.

"So we've got my medical history, and you're downloading what now?" I query.

"We're retrieving the personal notes of the project lead, again it should make things easier to explain down the line. Plus, there is one more thing that this terminal can help us with." A grin slowly spreads across Harvey's face, "we're also taking all their money".

"What?" I hiss, "surely that's something they're gonna notice, or track us with!"

"As I've said Chris, this is planned. I'm rerouting the funds through several shell companies, and the trail I'm leaving them ends at an account owned by a P. in the Terminus systems. When I'm done here they aren't going to be able to track the cash and we are gonna be 54 million credits richer". Smiling at me Harvey continues, "This not only makes us rich enough to get settled in this universe, but also kills this project. With this much funding down the drain then Cerberus is gonna find it difficult to justify continuing the project OR" he looks pointedly at me "hunting down any test subjects that happen to escape".

"That's actually quite a good plan." I concede, but something nags at me "I know 54 million is a lot but for a Cerberus project isn't that a little stingy? I mean the Lazarus project had over 4 billion credits pumped into it."

"Well at this stage Cerberus isn't as developed" Harvey answers

"What do you mean at this stage? What date is it?"

"Later. Seriously, how many times do I have to say that? We can play twenty questions when we're home free." He repeats yet again. Before I can reply I hear a sharp ping, it seems to indicate that whatever Harvey was doing to transfer the information and funds is complete. Filing away yet another question for later I turn away from the desk and start walking back towards the elevator.

"Where to next my confusing counterpart?" I ask giving him a wearied smile. I stop to think for a second as I walk back down the luxurious hallway. "Wait a second, how come we haven't seen any security guards?" As we enter the lift Harvey looks at me and the omni tool activates our descent to another floor.

"Before I woke you up I had already set this plan up. One of the most important parts was managing to adjust the guard rota so that on this evening there would be no guards patrolling the corridors. I also set the camera feeds on a continual loop until we're done here." I look at Harvey with a hint of respect.

"You've really thought this through haven't you?" This receives a bitter smile from my duplicate.

"There's not been much to do other than plan this to be honest" Harvey sounds somewhat morose as he answers this. "Regardless, our next stop is the guards' locker room. We need to get you some clothes that won't make you stand out. You're not exactly incognito in that getup" he states as he gestures to the pyjama like shirt and trousers I woke up in.

"Fair point" I concede. The doors open and I emerge into yet another white walled hallway. Before I even take two steps out of the lift I can see that the blue trail indicates the first door on my left as my objective. The room I enter is simply a locker room, bit disappointing that there hasn't been any innovation in locker rooms in the last century or two but at least I know where to look. Without any further instructions I start to search through the lockers on the walls in the hope of finding some clothes in my size. After a quick search I manage to cobble together a simple outfit from the guards' lockers , it looks somewhat like the grungy outfit that Shepard can wear on the Normandy in Mass effect 2. Except in this case the trousers are dark blue and instead of an orange life preserve looking vest, I'm wearing a black, long sleeved jacket with a hood.

"Yes yes, you look very debonair in that. Now can we get going?" Harvey asks impatiently as I adjust my new clothes while studying the mirror.

"Complain all you like dude, this sort of style doesn't happen by accident" I say while grinning at my companion. "And to answer your question, yes we can get going. So where exactly is the last stop on this brilliant plan of yours?"

"The roof" Harvey states, "we're gonna take the shuttle they have docked there and head straight off world with it".

"Well I certainly approve of that plan, let's get going-" before I can finish my sentence I hear the lift doors open. I immediately freeze in my tracks and strain to hear any sounds over my suddenly panicked heartbeat. Footsteps sound from the other side of the doors and I can hear a gruff voice muttering.

"Must've left my credit chit somewhere around here", before I even think to hide, the doors slide open and I'm staring face to face with a rather large, and surprised man. "Who the hell are you?"

"Uhhh...my name... my name is Ron. Ron Burgundy" I stammer quickly "you may have heard of me, I'm kind of a big deal", the words are barely out of my mouth before he pulls his gun on me.

"The hell you are" he growls, "You're subject 117! How did you wake up and how in the hell did you get out of your room?"

"Chris!" Harvey waves his hand in my face in an effort to get my attention, "you need to get to the roof and take that shuttle out of here! I'm not gonna be able to help you after this so you're gonna be on your own. Good luck".

"Answer me damn it!" the guard screams, but as he does so the device on my arm activates and a burst of electricity explodes around the guard. Without a Kinetic shield he doesn't stand a chance and bursts into flames and falls to a charred mess on the floor. His screams mingle with those coming from Harvey as his face contorts in pain. Clearly whatever he did with the omni tool took a toll on him and before I can ask if he's ok he fades from my view.

"Holy shit" I whisper as I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding in. Within a matter of seconds a man was killed in front of me and my only companion has disappeared. After a few moments I steel myself and check the guard's body, I didn't even have time to take in what he looked like before this happened and now he's just a pile of cooked flesh in clothing. I stare at the gory mess for too long and can feel the bile rising in my throat. As I start to retch I think to myself "_I can't stay here. Harvey said I need to get to the shuttle on the roof so that's where I'm heading"_. I stoop over the corpse of the guard and pick up his pistol, it takes a few tugs as his burnt fingers are still clasped round the handle but I eventually tear it from his grasp with a sickening crunch. I tentatively step out of the door and walk towards the elevator, all the while waving the gun around as if to prove to anybody watching that I know how to use one. I've used guns before, it's hard not too when growing up in the country, but they were hunting rifles and shotguns. They certainly weren't military grade space pistols!

The elevator ride is fairly uneventful, other than my confusion over searching through the omni tool for a way to make it interact with the lift. That went on for 5 minutes before I looked at the lift control panel and saw I could choose which floor there. Less than a day with all this future tech and I'm already losing my common sense, well played Chris.

I'm taken completely unawares by the sight revealed to me as the doors slide open. A beautiful urban skyline stretching out for miles in every direction. Everywhere I look I see a metropolis of skyscrapers and glowing lights, _"this is Illium" _I think to myself, _"why would Cerberus be on Illium?"_ Despite this quandary I can't seem to take my eyes off the view. For a guy that has spent the majority of his life in the countryside, I can't tell you how alien this is from what I'm used to, and not just because It's literally an alien planet. _"I suppose I should get used to stuff like this" _I think to myself after contemplating the view. I stand for a good few minutes before I remember the urgency of my situation and look around me for the shuttle. The roof is fairly big and there's space for at least six shuttles to land here, however for the time being there is only one docked. I start walking towards it and as I reach it, can see that it appears to be a Kodiak shuttle, much like the one used by the Normandy crew in Mass effect 2. After circling the ship a couple of times I can't seem to find a way in. I start fiddling with the device grafted onto my arm and after several fruitless attempts, resulting in me accidently playing my music, I succeed in opening the door and entering the shuttle. Staring at the flight controls in the cockpit I can immediately grasp a substantial flaw in Harvey's escape plan. How the fuck do I fly this thing?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Sitting at the holographic interface of the Kodiak shuttle I react like every Englishman that has ever been confronted with technology he doesn't understand. I stab my fingers at every button available in the hopes that it will achieve something. After turning the lights on and off, as well as opening the door several times I press a button which causes two joystick-like holograms to appear on the board in front of me. Tentatively I reach forward and grip them, I'm surprised at how solid they feel but I'm confident that these are important in flying this heap. As I move the left stick forward the entire ship shudders as it starts to pitch forward.

"Oh fuck" I squeak as the shuttle balances over the edge of the skyscraper.

After a few seconds I notice that I'm not falling and it dawns on me that the ship must be hovering. I turn my attention back to the joystick controls and I realise that I may be able to fly this thing, and a smile slowly spreads across my face.

"Dual analogue controls" I whisper with comprehension. It's just like a set of video game controls.

The left stick controls the direction and pitch while the right stick controls the speed of the shuttle. Armed with this knowledge I triumphantly pilot the shuttle away from the building. As the distance between me and the tower increases so does my confidence. I slowly become comfortable with this vehicle and begin to think what my next move will be. _"Right",_ I think to myself _"let's get off this rock"._ I direct the shuttle towards the sky and push the throttle to its maximum, getting off of this planet has got to increase my chances of avoiding detection from anyone that Cerberus sends after me. Despite my initial confidence in this new plan, I soon find a factor I hadn't considered as the ships VI interrupts in a stern yet calm feminine voice

"_**WARNING. LEAVING ATMOSPHERE IN 2 MINUTES. THIS VEHICLE NOT CALIBRATED FOR SPACE TRAVEL. PLEASE EQUIP SEALED SUITS"**_

This message repeats itself several times before I bitterly readjust the flight path away from leaving the planet.

"Balls", I mutter under my breath. "What the hell do I do now?" I ask before I remember that Harvey's gone. I've only known that guy for a few hours and I'm already getting pretty scared without him. You can say what you like about that fever dream of a companion but at he had a plan, and I'm only just realising how much I relied on him. Whatever he did with the omni-tool that forced him to disappear was necessary, considering the danger we were in. Still, it would have been better to get more instructions than _get to the shuttle_, if I'm honest, that was one part of the escape plan I could have figured out myself.

Just as I'm contemplating the hopelessness of my situation I see what seems to be a parking structure. After a quick thought I decide to park the Kodiak, after all I did steal this shuttle and I don't have a driving licence for it. Either way, I don't want to be caught with it by the authorities. Despite a substantial amount of trial and error, and if I'm honest there was a lot of error, I succeed in parking the vehicle roughly within a designated space. Before leaving the shuttle I search the cabin for anything I may find useful, this turns out to be rather fruitless with the exception of a holster for my recently acquired pistol. Equipping the holster was easy enough, it was making the gun return to a compact form that revealed itself to be a rather difficult task. It was only by accident that I found a small groove on the side of the weapon that, when pressed, causes it to compact itself into a more manageable state. Just as I open the shuttle doors to leave the shipboard VI states in its insistent voice

"_**REMINDER. ALWAYS REMOVE THIS VEHICLES' IGNITION CARD BEFORE LEAVING."**_

I roll my eyes but I'm not sure what will happen if I don't follow the VI's advice so after a quick search I find a protruding card in the holographic interface and yank it out. This must be something like a set of car keys, or at least the spaceship equivalent, so I pocket the device in my jacket and wander out into the streets of Illium.

It's amazing. There's really no way to describe how awesome this place is. The buildings are colossal, the ever-present skyline is breathtaking and the population is like nothing I've ever seen before. I can't even pinpoint the first alien I've ever seen as there are just so many of them all at once. After several confused, concerned and even irritated looks I realise that I'm blatantly staring at everyone I see. If I'm going to stay under Cerberus' radar I'm going to have to be a little more incognito than the giant space tourist. After a few streets, much to my surprise, I actually start to recognise this location, it's the docking area that you visit in mass effect 2. I'm in the stock exchange section, when I see the giant holographic image of company share prices. This isn't what catches my attention though, it's the date, **2182 CE. **A year before the events of the first mass effect, I guess that explains why Cerberus isn't that prominent yet. I don't really know how to feel about this revelation to be honest. I know what's going to happen, but should I involve myself? I mean there's a galaxy of species hanging in the balance of the mass effect storyline, I REALLY don't want to be responsible for fucking that up. On the other hand, the very fact that I'm here could have caused some changes already. Hell, I don't even know if I want to be involved with Shepard and the Normandy's crew. Don't get me wrong, that would be awesome but I'm not trained to deal with those situations. The most I could contribute would be harsh language, and until I get some answers from Harvey I'm not planning to even do that.

Looking around me I notice some stairs leading upwards, and if I remember correctly they lead to a bar. A grin quickly spreads across my face as I decide my next course of action, the thought of a swift pint has never been so inviting. One stairway later and I enter into a spacious area with seating scattered all over the place and a bar lining the far wall. As I wander over to the bar I take note that there are not many others in at this hour, only me, an asari bartender and a lone quarian male sitting at the bar. I wander over to the bar and quickly get the asaris attention. Before I can ask for anything she beats me to it.

"Welcome to eternity" she begins in a bored tone "I'm Aethya, asari matriarch and bartender. What can I get ya? No sex, I just cleaned the bar". After noticing my surprised demeanour she continues, "No offence, but your kind has a habit of ordering off the menu". I'm a bit taken aback by her brusque nature but the row of drinks behind her quickly grabs my attention.

"Sure, can I get a cider?"

"What did I just say about ordering off the menu? Sorry babe, never heard of it. If it's a human drink your shit out of luck." She must have noticed how crestfallen I was as she quickly continues "but I've never met anyone that doesn't like Serrice ice brandy". Before I can reply she has poured a glass and offered it to me. It suddenly occurs to me that I don't know how I'm going to pay.

"Uh, how much is this gonna be? Because I don't really know how to pay you," I confess. Aethya stares at me for a moment before I quickly continue "don't get me wrong, I have the money" I say, referring to the stolen Cerberus funds "I just don't know how to give you it" my voice tapers off at the end as I realise how ridiculous this is. The matriarch gestures to a device on the bar before slowly saying

"Just wave your omni-tool over that and it will transfer the owed amount. How do you not know that? It's the same in every store in the galaxy?" she asks incredulously.

"I'm from out of town" I mumble as I activate the device on my arm and wave it over the bar. With the drink paid for I take the brandy and sit at a table looking out at the skyline. Taking my first sip I'm surprised at how cold it is, in retrospect it shouldn't be that much of a revelation considering what its name is. The second thing I notice is the taste. "Christ, that's good" I concede to the asari.

"Told ya" she says without even looking up from the glass she's cleaning. As I turn back to the skyline I almost jump out of my skin as I see Harvey sitting there in a Hawaiian shirt.

"Having fun?" he asks as he smiles at me.

"WHOA" I shout as I recoil from the sudden apparition

"Use your indoor voice Chris" my companion suggests as he points to the now staring asari bartender. "By the way, fantastic plan coming to a bar when you're trying to escape the planet. Seriously, stellar work" giving me two thumbs up he continues sarcastically "Maybe we should go get some margarita shooters and pizza while we're at it".

"Okay firstly, nobody has margarita shooters with pizza" I counter, "and secondly, you really need to stop with the copyright infringement dude! Anyway, the shuttle couldn't handle spaceflight. Something about improper seals or not being calibrated or something"

"Then get another ship!" Harvey rebukes impatiently "You've got the funds for it!" he sighs "at least you ditched the shuttle, they shouldn't have any way to track us now. That is, as long as you left the nav card" he looks me in the eye "you did ditch the nav card didn't you?" In response I shamefacedly pull the device out from my pocket. "Oh for fucks sake Chris" Harvey mutters. "They're gonna follow that straight to us"

"Oh come on, how can spaceship keys lead Cerberus to us?" I ask

"It's the future Chris, of course they've invented car keys you can find if you lose them" he replies. After a few moments of panicked thought I come to a sudden realisation, I've actually thought up a plan for this. Looking back up at Harvey I give him a wink

"Calm down dude, I've got this". I stand up and with feigned confidence walk over to the quarian in the corner. Without any idea how to initiate a conversation I just plough ahead. "Hi, I have a proposition for you". Looking at me with what appears to be a mixture of surprise and confusion the quarian replies.

"Um, I'm very flattered but I'm not really into humans that way, sorry". After staring blankly for a while I grasp the nature of his confusion.

"Wait a second mate, that's not what I meant. Seriously, why does everyone in this bar think I'm after sex? Do I seem look like a sex pest or something?" Out of the corner of my eye I see Harvey smiling and nodding his head. _"Oh you are such a dick" _I think at my hallucination_"We look exactly the same!"_ Before I receive a reply from either of them I continue with my original proposition "What I'm actually offering is more of a business deal. Your here for your pilgrimage right? And I'm assuming that if you're drinking in a bar at this time of day that it's not going too well. Am I right?" In a surprised tone he responds

"Yes, on both counts. I thought I could make some money with business investments but I've not had much luck." He looks forlornly up at me "I can't even get a ride back to the fleet because of Illiums laws on quarian ships loitering in the system." Standing up and offering me his hand in greeting, the quarian continues, "My name is Prazza, and I'm willing to listen". Seeing Harvey out of the corner of my eye I can't help but let a satisfied grin etch across my face. Shaking his hand I begin

"The name's Chris, and thanks for hearing me out. I'm not sure how to say this without coming across as crazy but I'm being chased by a terrorist organisation and they're tracking me with this" I hold up the nav card and rush ahead with my proposal before the shock in his eyes causes him to refuse my offer before I can complete it. "What I'm offering you is a ship" This clearly raises his interest as his eyes widen and he leans forward to hear what I have to say. "I want you to take this card with you when you leave this planet on the ship I'm giving you, and I want you to drop it on whatever planet you come across first. I don't want them chasing you, I just want a head start." With my proposal finished I wait with baited breath as Prazza thinks it through.

"For a whole ship?" he asks "All I have to do is drop off that nav card and I get to go back to the fleet with a ship as my pilgrimage gift?" I nod my head in reply "then yes! I'm the son of a marine, my pilgrimage gift was only ever expected to be a small sum of credits or some resources surveyed. If I go back with a ship I'll make my father so proud".

"Brilliant" I say as I shake his hand vigorously and wink at Harvey, "have you any idea where we can get you a ship?"

"Of course, any quarian on a pilgrimage will spend most if not all of their free time browsing used ship dealers. A friend of mine has a great selection if you're up for going there now?" my new friend asks.

"Sure thing mate, just give me a second", I turn and pick up my drink, downing it with a swift gulp. "All set, let's go" I announce as Harvey rolls his eyes. It doesn't take long for us to get to Prazza's friends ship dealer as it's only a short elevator ride away. The dealership doesn't seem very impressive at first as it's simply a small counter with Prazza's salarian friend behind it. However, the impressive part of the shop is the holographic interface next to the counter, as it allows you to take the ship you want and pick various modifications to add to it.

"I'm hesitant to ask" Prazza begins" but this is a modified Kowloon class freighter" he gestures to a ship design he had stored on his omni-tool "It has been heavily modified for solar energy collection, it's a little expensive but it can be of real use to the migrant fleet. If I take that nav card I want this ship as payment" he states. Looking at the price I see that the sum total for the ship and all the modifications is roughly ten million credits.

"Seems a good deal to me" Harvey interrupts, "we'll still have plenty of credits and it leads Cerberus on a wild goose chase, if they can even send anyone after us in the first place". Turning away from Harvey I wave my omni-tool over the counter and a sharp beep indicates the ship has been paid for.

"It's a deal" I say to the dumbfounded Prazza.

"I don't know what to say" he stutters, "I was bluffing! I wanted you to barter me down to a more appropriate ship, I can't take this!" he exclaims

"Of course you can" I state, "I'm asking you to risk your safety for me here, I can't do that in good conscience without rewarding you appropriately", at a loss for words Prazza grabs me in a bear hug and squeezes me tighter than feels comfortable.

"Thank you, If it wasn't for this I would never have found an acceptable pilgrimage gift. That would have led to me either being unable to join the crew of the ship I wanted to, or to me feeling like I have to continuously prove myself. Either way, I am in your debt Chris".

After a quick goodbye I hand over both the ownership of the ship and the Cerberus nav card to Prazza. It only takes half an hour of preparation until Prazza is taking off in his newly acquired pilgrimage present. Turning to look at Harvey I give him a self satisfied smirk.

"Pretty good plan if I do say so myself" I boast

"I have to admit, you did well Chris" Harvey concedes "and let's not forget, Prazza has helped us out in another way too" I raise an eyebrow in response to my companions claim

"How's that?" I ask

"He led us to the place we're gonna buy our ship" I follow Harveys gesture to the holographic ship designer and can see the smile creep across Harvey's face. This is gonna be fun.

**A/N. Sorry bout the late update, had an important application that needed my full attention and after finishing that I then found this chapter really difficult to write. Also, thanks to everyone that's setting story alerts or favouriting this, it means a lot to me that people are enjoying the ramblings of a madman. Let me know if there's any way I can improve or what you think with a review. Thanks again everyone, I'll try to get the next one out quicker.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Oh come on!" I exclaim "That's the third ship I've designed that you've said no to!"I look forlornly at the holographic ship designer as Harvey deletes my latest attempt to specify a ship for us. Pinching the bridge of his nose Harvey sighs in frustration before addressing me.

"That's because you keep choosing ships that are the size of freighters, and as such would require a crew! Now, considering that we're on the run from Cerberus and we don't have a crew to hand, don't you think it would be better to choose a ship that can be piloted and maintained by one man?" Looking away from the holographic interface I focus on Harvey with a rebuttal

"Fine, I get your point. But I don't have much of a clue what sort of ship we should be getting or even what I would be capable of flying. I mean other than that shuttle I don't have a lot of experience with spaceships, and to be honest that experience had far too much trial and error for my liking. Anyway, let's not forget that you fucked off when it came to flying the incomprehensible death-trap!" Harvey's features soften after my outburst and he responds

"Just let me have five minutes and I can find a ship that will be more than suitable for us", with a theatrical gesture I step out the way of the terminal. My omni-tool lights up and Harvey regards me for a moment before mentioning "You didn't need to get out the way Chris, it's not like I need to walk to the terminal to interact with it. Lest we forget, I'm not corporeal" he demonstrates by waving his arm back and forth through the shop counter.

"I haven't forgotten that" I say "I've just put it in the pile of all those other unanswered questions you owe me, speaking of, when are we going to play twenty questions? I'm thinking after escaping that facility and sending them on a wild goose chase with the Nav card, we should be in a position where you can throw me a few bones here", staring intently at the holographic ship designer Harvey shakes his head wordlessly before responding.

"Not yet Chris, but we're very close now. All we've got left to do is get off this planet in our brand new ship" before I can argue my point any further he steps back to reveal a holographic representation of his ship design. Holding off on my interrogation I step forward to get a closer look at Harvey's proposed design. It looks like a bigger version of the Hammerhead tank from ME2, but without the dual hover jets on the sides. In anticipation of my comparison to the Hammerhead Harvey explains the vehicles design. "It's a Raptor class infantry assault shuttle. They're used extensively throughout the turian hierarchy's military forces. My guess is that the Hammerhead hover tank is based on its design. Considering the Normandy was created with an amalgam of human and turian innovation, it's not too much of a stretch to believe that the Hammerhead was designed with the same thoughts in mind." Looking proudly at the holographic representation rotating slowly above the terminal Harvey continues. "Being larger than the Hammerhead means that there are three sections to the ship, the first is the cockpit. This is based at the front of the ship where there are seats for two pilots, but it can easily be flown by one individual. The second section in the middle of the spacecraft is where the infantry would be seated if this was a standard Raptor shuttle, and much like the Kodiak shuttle it's also where you board this ship. The final section at the back of the ship would normally be a storage bay for extra munitions. However I have taken the liberty of creating a space specifically for you." Turning to smile at me Harvey enlarges the 3D schematic and indicates the back of the ship. "There's a bed, storage containers for food, clothing or whatever else takes your fancy, there is also an automatic medical mech in case of emergencies. We are probably going to spending a lot of time on this transport so I have also made the addition of an extranet terminal in your quarters". I respond to Harvey without breaking my eyes away from his impressive design.

"Dude, this is awesome" without giving me a chance to continue praising him Harvey ploughs ahead.

"Oh that's not even the best bit! I've added various technologies and innovations into its schematics to give us several advantages. The Raptor class shuttle is naturally quick and manoeuvrable so it didn't require much improvement but I still added a slightly more powerful engine just to be on the safe side. Like the Hammerhead it is armed with only a single cannon, but it has a high rate of fire as well as a missile guidance system, meaning that regardless of how shit a shot you are then it should probably hit something" Harvey doesn't even acknowledge my response of a middle finger to that remark as he continues, "Unlike the Hammerhead this shuttle does have a kinetic barrier, but that doesn't mean we're gonna want to get into any fights. We can hold our own in a fight but this ship isn't designed to attack head on. Now the aspect that I'm most proud of is the stealth systems, something we're going to need a lot if Cerberus keeps looking for us". Looking somewhat dubiously at me Harvey mentions "This will require a fair bit of explanation here so tell me if you don't want to know all the ins and outs".

"No no, I'm interested in hearing how this works" I encourage.

"Well, you know that detecting ships in space is all about seeing their heat emissions right?" I nod my head "Well the Normandy gets around that by storing its heat for a certain time period. We can't do that with a ship this size or we would cook within minutes. What I've done instead is introduce a cooling system along the hull of the ship. Pipes filled with liquid nitrogen run along the ships outer hull and maintain a constant cold temperature to camouflage our heat signature to the heat, or lack thereof, in space. The danger is that we can't keep it up too long or we will freeze to death after a few hours. Most ships wouldn't be able to do this due to their size but we are the perfect mix between small enough for out heat signature to be hidden by such a crude system and large enough to implement it."

"That's pretty cool" I admit, "but won't they be able to spot us with radar or something like that?" I query. Giving me a sly grin Harvey answers.

"Funny you should ask, but another addition to the Raptors design I've made is the light absorbing paint all over the hull." Noticing my confusion Harvey goes into more detail "ships don't use radar with sound waves anymore. They use lasers in something called ladar, same premise as radar but with lasers bouncing off targets to reveal their position. The light absorbing paint will effectively make us invisible to their short range sensors. Added to which, this specialist paint makes the ship look pretty cool".

"Ok Harvey, enough" I interrupt "I don't know much about ships but you seem to know a fuck ton so I'm gonna trust that you know what you're talking about. What's our next step?" smiling at my acceptance of his ship design Harvey explains

"You just need to talk to the store owner and get this ship made, oh and you need to give it a name". After a few moments I switch the Hologram from showing the schematic to showing what the finished product will look like. It really does look just like a larger version of the Hammerhead, only without the hover jets and completely painted black. A smile creeps across my face as I think of a name, in the registration section of the interface I type in the designation **Blackbird**. This gains a smile from Harvey

"Calling a Raptor class shuttle Blackbird? Fitting" comments the store owner once I've entered the information and shown him the schematic.

It takes a lot longer for the ship dealer to assemble Harvey's schematics than it was with Prazza's freighter. I guess that all the extras added onto the Raptor must make it much more complex to build than the Kowloon was. It was also a LOT more expensive too, costing around 24 million of my stolen credits. It was going to be one hell of a ship but considering my original 54 million credits has dwindled down to roughly 20 million in less than a day, I'm gonna need to cut back on my spending. While waiting for the ships construction I look across the road to what seems to be a cafe of some sort. Realising that all I've had since I've woken up is a glass of brandy I quickly wander over and order the biggest burger they have. Sitting and contentedly eating what can only be described as a behemoth of burgers I can't help but realise how insane this all is. I'm in a fictional universe, being hunted by terrorists and my only company is another me and despite all of this going on around me I can't help but enjoy this awesome burger.

"Hey buddy" I say getting the attention of the volus that served me, "I just want to let you know that this is amazing" I compliment before taking another bite

"Why thank you earth clan" he wheezes, "I take great pride in my thresher steak burgers" without waiting for my reply he hurries on to serve another customer. Thresher steak burger? As in _Thresher Maw_? I stare at my meal with new eyes as I picture where the hunk of meat came from. After a few moment's hesitation I shrug and take another bite. What the hell, in for a penny in for a pound.

I sit in the cafe finishing my meal before heading back towards the ship dealers after noticing Harvey tapping his wristwatch. As I enter the shop the salarian dealer has me swipe the device with my omni-tool to finalise the payment and the ship is officially mine. He then gives me directions to the hanger that I am to collect my new possession in. At first I'm concerned that I'm going to get lost or forget the directions I've been given but then Harvey creates his blue objective line for me to follow. Stepping out of the store I follow the blue indicator down the street. After a few minutes travel I decide to question my companion again.

"So what are you?" I ask Harvey as we walk side by side down a fairly empty street. Taken aback by my sudden question he opens his mouth to respond but I butt in before he has the opportunity to form an answer "and I don't want to hear you say _later_ or anything like that. We have time to talk about this while we're walking".

"Well now's not the best of times-" he begins

"No! You don't get to say that!" I state angrily "You owe me answers and at the very least you can give me some broad strokes here. Christ mate give me-"

"I DON'T KNOW" screams Harvey interrupting me.

"What?" I respond nonplussed

"I don't know what I am" Harvey whispers "We can get into details later but you came into this universe around a year ago. Whatever caused that to happen caused me to happen." I simply stare at him and he continues tiredly "My best guess is that whatever brought you over here caused you so much mental trauma that it splintered your mind, and made me". I'm just standing in the street looking at my feet in confusion before looking up at Harvey again.

"But...But you said I hadn't gone crazy. That was the first fucking thing you said to me!"

"I know what I said!" Harvey responds angrily "But I had to get us out of that place and I don't think my opening line would work if it was _hey your doo-fucking-lally and I'm an aspect of your shattered mind, follow me!_" Looking me in the eyes he continues "I'm sorry Chris but think about how I feel. I haven't a clue what I am and the only way I can interact with anything outside your head is with your omni-tool". Feeling a little ashamed for lashing out at my companion I apologise

"Sorry mate, this whole situation is so hard on me that I never stopped to think about how you were coping with it." Gaining a smile from my apparent subconscious we continue walking towards the direction of the hanger and I begin talking again "This is so fucking weird man. I mean, this is impossible and yet here we are" after a few seconds of consideration I question Harvey again "So what was that you were saying about the omni-tool before?"

"You're really not gonna give up with these questions are you?" Harvey wearily sighs

"Well I'm a little invested in finding out the answers" I respond

"Ok, fair enough. Again, we can go into the details later but the omni-tool grafted to your arm isn't just for shits and giggles. It's linked directly to your neural pathways, Cerberus implanted it as a way of studying your brain. Unlucky for them, it serves as something of a two way street so I can access the omni-tool and any technological systems within range." Gaining a rather smug look he continues "I've gotten pretty good at it too"

"That you have" I compliment, "we would never have gotten out of that facility if it wasn't for you. I know I've given you a hard time since I've woken up but I appreciate the help" I say giving Harvey a warm smile

"Hey no problem, besides technically it's my skin I'm saving too" smiling at that we walk contentedly along for a while longer before something else occurs to me.

"Wait a second, how come you're walking? How can I see you if you're my subconscious or whatever you are up there?" I ask confusedly

"Well that's an easy one." Harvey begins "I simply alter your awareness a little. I'm not really walking along, I just thought it would be more comforting to you if you could see who you were talking to"

"Well thanks, but it's not really necessary. Now I know what you are you don't have to do that." I remark

"Oh, never mind then" and with that Harvey disappears.

"Oh shit, you haven't gone again have you?" I worriedly ask

"_No Chris, don't panic. I've just stopped altering your perceptions to show a representation of myself" _Harvey's voice sounds in my head, much to my relief. We walk for a couple more blocks before Harvey mentions that we are almost at the hanger and we enter a much more crowded area.

"So" I begin "Once we've got this ship, what's our next step?" I ask. However after receiving some confused glances from passers I regret asking the question quite so loudly.

"_You can just think it in your head Chris, it might be best not to advertise that you're a nutter" _Harvey remarks before beginning to answer my question_ "Well, Omega has a good reputation for ensuring nobody finds you. I'm thinking If we head there first we can make a plan from there"_ Harvey answers. Before I can form a response we turn a corner and I'm faced with the image of someone I really don't want to see. Miranda Lawson, she's dressed much as she is in ME2 with just as stern an expression on her face as she walks towards us.

"_Shit"_ Harvey exclaims. _"They weren't supposed to be looking for us for another few hours"_

"Don't worry, maybe she not here looking for us", I say with confidence I don't feel. After a few moments of holding my breath with fear I lock eyes with her. Her eyebrows shoot up in alarm and she raises her gun "or maybe she is"

"Hold it right there!" she shouts at me

"_Run!"_Harvey shouts in my head. The objective marker switches from blue to red and immediately changes direction. Without thinking I sprint in the newly outlined direction indicated by Harvey.

"_What the hell are we doing?"_ I think at Harvey as I sprint down crowded streets_ "We need that ship if we're getting off this planet!"_ After waiting a few seconds and receiving no answer from Harvey I immediately panic. What If he's gone again? _"Harvey? You there?" _I ask

"_Busy"_ is all I receive in response from my constant companion. At least he's still there, looking behind me I can see Miranda sprinting after me with her pistol raised at me. She wouldn't fire in a crowded street would she? My answer is given when I hear several sharp cracks as her weapon is fired. After seeing several people around me fall I notice darts protruding from them. I can at least take solace in the fact that she isn't trying to kill me. I follow Harvey's trail down several alleyways that force me to climb fences and jump over bins, for a moment I maintain a vain hope that this will slow Lawson down. That is until she displays just how perfect she is with the use of impeccable free running and gymnastics to avoid the obstacles much more skilfully than I did.

"Shit" I mutter as I observe her skill. As I turn the next corner I see that the only avenue I have left is a balcony with a drop of thousands of storeys. Staring at my hopeless escape route I repeat myself "Shit".

"Put your hands in the air 117!" My pursuer demands as she catches up to me

"Oh come on!" I angrily shout as I raise my arms "why the fuck do you people even want me!" I demand in between pants "I'm just a boring guy from the country, seriously Miranda can't you just fuck off?" The genetically tailored woman stares at me with surprise and confusion before demanding

"How do you know my name?" Her eyes bore into mine as she repeats herself "How do you know my name?" with every enunciation she jabs her gun in my direction.

"_CHRIS! JUMP NOW!" _Harvey suddenly screams in my head. With only a moments hesitation I decide to trust him and dive off the edge of the balcony. As my dive carries me over the edge of the drop I can hear Miranda's firearm discharging behind me, but what I'm more afraid of is the gut wrenching abyss spreading out below me. My stomach sinks as I realise my trust in Harvey was completely misplaced and all I can think to do is angrily mutter

"Harvey you dick"

**A/N- Sorry to leave you on a literal cliffhanger but, well I wanted a cliffhanger. Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone for the favouriting and story alerts, and a special thank you for the reviews from ****coop97 and Triggs. Really made my day getting some feedback from you guys so thanks again. Hope you enjoyed and as always thanks for reading**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Terror spreads through me as I gaze down at the abyss spread below and an undoubtedly high pitched scream is caught in my throat as I'm too scared to even release my fear with a final shout. After diving head first over the balcony my momentum is causing me to tumble arse over tit as gravity takes hold and pulls me downwards. Despite my now rapidly twisting perspective I can make out a dark shape hurtling towards me from the right, I initially think its Miranda trying to grab me but am quickly proven wrong when the intimidating descent below me is suddenly replaced with the cargo hold of a small ship. I fall through the shuttle doors and land on my right shoulder with enough force that I feel a wave of intense pain wash over me. I don't stop there however as the momentum of my saviours transport causes me to slam into the back wall, knocking what scant breath I have out of my lungs.

For a long time I don't move, instead I simply lean against the back wall and groan in pain. I can barely move my right arm, which is almost numb from the pain. It also hurts to breath, I'm not a doctor but I would bet good money that a couple of ribs are broken. Must have fallen at least twenty feet there, and I'm certainly feeling it. Eventually I take notice of my surroundings and can see that I'm lying in an empty and fairly cargo hold, around 5 feet wide. The shuttle doors are to my left so I have to assume that the ship was on its side when it saved me from my leap of faith. I can also see that there is a door behind me on the back wall that I'm leaning on, as well as a door in front of me. Despite the pain in my arm and my side I stagger to a standing position and limp towards what I assume is the pilot's cabin. I can make a guess as to what ship this is and who my saviour is, but I still have to see for myself. I press the console next to the door causing it to open and I stare in at the occupant to see a grinning Harvey.

"Ta da!" he shouts while waving his hands

"Thought as much" I mumble in pain, "That explains what you were up to while I was running for my life"

"Sorry I couldn't help more" apologises my subconscious "but I needed to get the ship, took a lot of concentration too as I'm not too familiar with the piloting of the Blackbird". I stare uncomprehendingly at my counterpart until I remember that the Blackbird is the name of our new ship.

"No worries mate" I respond through gritted teeth " you pulled my ass out of the fire once again so I'm not gonna be complaining at you for a fair while" I walk forward and sink into the co-pilots chair with a sigh of pain. Staring out of the viewport I realise I must have been sitting in the cargo hold for longer than I thought as all I can see in front of us is the darkness of space littered with glowing stars. "Well there's a sight you don't see every day" I whisper in awe.

"Actually, in this universe it kinda is" Harvey states pedantically. Looking over at me his face wrinkles with concern as he asks "That was quite a fall you took there, how're you holding up?"

"Well" I begin "last time I felt this bad I woke up in another universe, so not great".

"Good thing we've got that medical mech then, head to your quarters and get yourself checked" Harvey suggests.

Giving my companion a smile and a nod I weakly stand up and shuffle off to the back of the ship. Thankfully the cargo hold ceiling is littered with hand holds so I manage to keep myself upright as I awkwardly limp to my quarters. Stepping into my new room for the first time I can't help but feel satisfied as I see a fairly spacious area filled with a large bed on the far side of the room. On the far wall several containers as well as a small desk with what appears to be a holographic screen on it, must be the extranet terminal I suppose. I also take note of what appears to be a shower/toilet room built onto the end of my quarters. Everything I could ever need in one place, that's got to be useful considering I'm gonna be living on this ship for a while. After my cursory examination of the room I limp over to the machine installed next to my bed. It takes very little time for me to work out how to use this device as after the initial start-up it seems to be all automated. The machine instructs me to lie on the bed and within seconds multiple mechanical arms are whirring and flashing around me as it scans and prods my body in its examination. Every now and again the machine jabs me with a needle and applies a small amount of medigel, in fact it all seems to be fairly straight forward until several robotic limbs take hold of my chest and right arm before violently readjusting it.

"BLOODY HELL!" I scream as my arm is bathed in a sharp spike of pain. I groan on the bed for a while as I cradle my arm, until I look up and notice a summary on the readout of the automatic doctor.

_**List of patient injuries and treatment**_

_**1-Multiple cuts/bruises/contusions = medigel applied**_

_**2- Three cracked ribs = medigel applied, bed rest suggested**_

_**3- Right shoulder dislocated**__**= forcibly reset, medigel applied, bed rest suggested**_

Well, at least nothing was broken. From the look of things I should be fine after a few days, in fact after only a couple of minutes I start to feel much better and I barely notice the pain anymore. Feeling a lot better with myself I stand up and wander back to the cockpit to see how things are going, after only a few steps though I can hear Harvey's thoughts in my head

"_I'm still in your head Chris, you don't have to come to the cockpit just to talk to me you know"_

"Oh yeah" I mutter as I remember our previous conversation "well regardless, I want to see the cockpit. Feels weird just talking to empty space anyway"

"_Fair enough"_ Harvey complies.

Within moments I'm sitting in the co-pilots chair and enjoying the scene playing out in front of me. Stars glistening in the distance and the occasional planet littering the viewport create a breathtaking portrait for me. After a few minutes of quiet contemplation I turn to Harvey again.

"So this is what medi-gel feels like? I gotta say it kicks the shit out of asparin"I lean back deeper into the seat before continuing "Thanks for saving my life again dude, you're making a habit of this" my counterpart smiles while giving me a friendly nod in response to this and I continue. "So did Miranda see your daring rescue of me?" after a few moments my counterpart replies

"I'm not sure, you were under the balcony so she wouldn't have had a direct line of sight to you. But she's not stupid, if she saw a shuttle fly near you seconds after you jump over the ledge then she can put two and two together." Turning to me he continues, "Odds are she knows you survived and that you fled off world in this space craft".

"Bugger" I mutter, "so all the precautions we've made and the wild goose chase we laid out with Prazza were pointless? At least it was a nice try, although I could have done without the twenty foot drop" I say while rubbing my vaguely aching shoulder.

"Twenty? You were closer to forty feet with that tumble mate" corrects my companion. I look at Harvey uncomprehendingly for a second or two before responding.

"You're shitting me right? Because I can just about believe I walked away from a twenty foot drop with only a dislocated shoulder and a couple of cracked ribs. But forty? Hell no, nobody just walks away from that without serious medical attention, even with future doctor droids!" I assert. Harvey turns to me for a moment before seemingly steeling himself and nodding his head.

"Well, this seems as good a time as any to tell you a little of what I learned from the Cerberus medical logs" I immediately perk up as Harvey mentions this and I lean forward in my seat. Looking me in the eyes Harvey begins his explanation. "From the files we took from Cerberus, when we escaped their facility, I've found what they were trying to develop, and unsurprisingly they're after creating super soldiers. Now they can't just pump up humans with genetic upgrades because there's a limit on what they human body can handle before the negative side effects outnumber the positives and they're left with something that will be more of a hindrance in a fight than a help. That's where you come in." Gesturing in my direction he continues "ironically the last two hundred years of evolution and genetic manipulation has decreased the human body's ability to be altered. Your physiology on the other hand is still as fresh as nature intended. As a result your body is much more capable of genetic manipulation than anyone else in this universe." Smiling at me Harvey continues "cool huh?" It takes several minutes for me to digest what my apparent subconscious has relayed to me but I eventually respond.

"So whatever they did to me meant that I can survive a forty foot fall with only minor injuries?" I tentatively ask, my companion nods his head

"Exactly, although it's not restricted just to that. One sec, I'll get you the list of what they've done to you" and with that my omni-tool sparks to life giving me fright once more, I hope I get used to that. It's gonna suck if every time this device is activated I jump out of my skin. I stare down at the list being projected from my left hand and read what Cerberus has done to me.

_**Subject 117 cybernetic and genetic modifications report:**_

_**Optical Enhancement: - By enhancing the optic nerves with micro-fibres and additional nerve cells it allows for a greater level of perception as well as repairing existing damage to the optical nerves thereby correcting the subject's vision.**_

_**Heavy Bone Weave (Skeletal Lattice): - By reinforcing the skeleton with a synthetic weave, bones can be made almost unbreakable. In the event of bone trauma, medi-gel conduits allow for bone regenerations in a matter of days.**_

_**Heavy Muscle Weave (Microfiber Weave): - **__**Perforating the muscles with micro-fibers increases overall strength, speed and decreases the potential for muscle damage from exertion.**_

_**Heavy Skin Weave (Lattice Shunting): - **__**Strong synthetic fibers are woven through the skin, dramatically reducing damage taken from most attacks. These fibers also act as a medi-gel conduit, improving healing. **_

_**Advanced Omni-tool Graft: - With the use of advanced cybernetics an omni-tool has been fused with both the nerves and the spinal column of the subject, primarily to be used as a means of studying the subject's higher brain functions and awareness levels. In the event that the subject is deemed operational several advanced augmentations have been added to the device. (Hydra Module, Multicore Amplifier, Advanced Heuristics, for more details refer to Cerberus Cybernetic upgrades manual)**_

It takes me a long time to digest this information, hell I just found out that I'm akin to Frankenstein's monster so it's gonna take me a few minutes to catch my bearings. Turning to Harvey very slowly I try to compose myself.

"So what does this mean?" I ask quietly, "Am I still me or has that changed too?" Harvey quickly responds with

"Chris, it's all fine. You're still you, you just have a few bells and whistles thrown into the mix, that's all" Harvey replies in a placating manner. "It's not like they've turned you into a superhero or some mutated monster. All these modifications have done is made you physically capable of being a soldier, a very good soldier." Staring back at Harvey I feel a lot less trepidation at the thought of all these supposed changes to my physiology. Reaching up to my face I run my fingers over where my glasses would usually be and feel nothing, turning to look at my companion again I grin.

"I suppose there are a few perks to being experimented upon by an extremist organisation." Leaning back in my chair I let myself finally relax after what feels like weeks of work but has only been a little less than a day. "Christ I'm tired" I mumble, after a moment's thought I continue "are you okay to fly this thing for a few hours?"

"You're kidding me right?" Harvey responds incredulously "After almost a day of unceasingly demanding answers from me, when we are finally in a position to talk these things through you want to have a nap?" Wide eyed Harvey stares at me and awaits my response.

"What else can I tell you? I'm exhausted, let's not forget that It's been a very busy day and from what you've said, I've been comatose in that Cerberus facility for the last year. Even with all these upgrades a body doesn't just get up and run a marathon without feeling some kind of drawback at a later date." Gesturing with limp arms at the rest of me I continue "and I'm feeling the drawback all over." I unsteadily stand up and start limping to the back of the ship "besides, you'll still be here when I wake up right?"

"Yeah, It's not like I'm going anywhere" Harvey says while gesturing to my head again "I suppose that's fine, we're a day or two from Omega if we take a more circuitous route to avoid Cerberus" Harvey turns back to the controls before wishing me goodnight and I head back to my room. It takes less than a minute for me to strip off my new clothes and curl up on the bed. Even with all the aches and pains, even with the uncomfortably hard bed and even with all the insanity of the last 24 hours, I've never been so grateful to lie down. As I feel sleep tugging at the edges of my consciousness I faintly send a thought to Harvey.

"When I wake up, we still need to clear up some other things", Seconds before I drift away I'm aware of a response from my counterpart.

"Count on it"

**Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long since I've updated and without sounding too whiny let's just say I've had a lot of shit to get done that has cut into my writing time, regardless it was a bit of a dick move to take so long to update after leaving it on a cliffhanger so I apologize. Then again this apology kind of relies on this story being good enough that you guys give a shit so I guess we're safe. Thanks again for reading and I hope to update again for you soon, once again any reviews or comments are welcome as I'm unsure as to whether this is worth continuing or not so let me know what you guys think. Cheers then.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

I wake up with a start, short of breath and covered in a cold sweat. I can barely remember my dream only that my heart is still thundering in my chest from a sense of residual panic. It takes a further few seconds of confusion before I'm aware of where I am and my memories of the previous day come flooding back to me. I had desperately hoped that I would wake up in my usual bed and that this would all have just been some strange fever dream that I could tell my friends about over a pint. As I place my feet on the floor the cold of the metal slaps me into wakefulness, this causes me to groan in protest as I feel the stiffness and aching of my body. Despite this I resolutely stand up and prepare myself to face the day. It only takes a few minutes to have a quick shower in what appears to be a multipurpose hygiene cupboard and after a few minutes of futilely searching for a clean set, I put on my clothes from the previous day and make a mental note to get myself some more apparel. My search for new clothes did yield some fruit in the form of some food labelled as a nutrient bar. It doesn't look like much, in fact it looks like a small brick, but it tasted alright and the wrapper explained that it had everything a body needs to survive on. From the look of it I have several months supply of this stuff so at least I know I'm not gonna go hungry.

After being fed and watered I head to the cockpit to continue my conversation with Harvey.

"Morning sunshine!" greets my counterpart happily, "you sleep well?"

"Like I was dead" I mutter in response, "still, the bed was soft and the engine was quiet so I can't really complain. It's more the situation we're in than the surroundings that have got me on edge" I explain.

"Well don't worry Chris, we're only about a day away from Omega so I think we're safe from Cerberus, at least for the time being"

"Dude, it's not just Cerberus that has freaked me out, it's ALL of this!" I say as I gesture wildly with my arms, "I'm in another universe with no way to get home and no idea if I'll ever see my family and friends again" I slump forlornly into the co-pilots seat and put my head in my hands. "I just don't know what to do", the last phrase escapes my mouth as a whisper. Giving me a comforting smile Harvey kneels down next to me.

"Chris, what's your family's motto?" I look incredulously at him for a moment and he continues, "What do your parents say whenever you've come across a problem you've felt was too much for you?" Harvey clarifies. I smile at Harvey as I remember the answer

"Keep calm, carry on and don't let the buggers grind you down" I answer, "right you are Harv, I'll do my best" I assure, receiving a smile from my counterpart. Feeling somewhat more confident again I turn to Harvey, "You okay if I continue our conversation from before?" this gains a nod from Harvey in response so I continue, "Well, first things first. How did you know what my parents would say?"

"Just a little benefit from living in your head", my companion replies smugly, "I might not be able to interact with much but at least there's plenty of stuff to explore up here" he gestures to his head before continuing, "over the past year I've had nothing to do in your body but plan our escape, practice using the omni-tool and explore your memories. You've had some interesting experiences Chris". At this point Harvey is blatantly grinning at me.

"Wait a sec. Just how much of my memories have you explored in the name of entertainment?" I demand

"Well let's just say that I found your friendship with Jill an interesting one" grinning Harvey gives me a wink.

"Dude! That stuff's private!" I shout at him, "Don't plunder THOSE memories you perv!" Holding his hands up in supplication Harvey mock surrenders.

"Don't worry Chris, I'll leave those moments well enough alone" Harvey looks slyly up at me "Tiger". I shoot him a warning glance for that reference and he just laughs. "C'mon man, ask your questions already". I take a few moments to compose myself again before continuing our discussion.

"Hmmn, well I probably should have asked this first but...how the hell did I get here?" I ask. Looking somewhat disheartened by this question Harvey responds

"Now that, I don't really know" my face falls at this but he presses on, "I've been going through the files that we liberated from the facility and the closest I've come to finding an answer is that you came from a Cerberus cell codenamed _The Crucible_".

"Well that sounds ominous" I mutter, "but if we check out that cell then maybe we can find me a way home?" I ask excitedly

"Therein lies the problem mate, I couldn't find any information on its location" Harvey states, "it's pretty frustrating actually, there's a whole plethora of test subjects that are stated to have come from the crucible but there's no type of paper trail leading back there or indicating where it is. Until we get that information there's no way we can find it", what little flame of hope I had lit with my crude beginnings of a plan were immediately extinguished upon hearing Harvey's explanation.

"Well that sucks" I sigh disappointedly before facing Harvey again to continue the conversation. "I suppose the only other thing I want to know about all this is where the hell did you go before?" I ask, referencing Harvey's disappearing act on Ilium

"Oh that" Harvey recalls, "well there are several limits on what I can do to help you, chiefly higher energy output processes or applications on your omni-tool are kinda off limits. The omni-tool and your brain aren't perfectly synchronised, as a result if I use tech abilities that have a high power draw then I get something of a backlash of energy, which makes it harder for me to concentrate".

"So you get distracted and wander off if you use a tech ability?" I ask with confusion plastered across my face.

"I don't wander off, I just get trapped in your mind somewhere" he explains, with an exasperated expression, "It's hard to explain but for me to be capable of altering your awareness enough for us to interact I need to maintain a high level of concentration to focus myself, and using tech abilities seem to short me out for a few hours. I can hack and decrypt until the cows come home but anything more than that and you're flying Han style for a while" I look confused for a second before Harvey clarifies, "Solo".

"Fair enough then" I say while chuckling, and after a moments contemplation I continue, "wait a second, you've been flying this thing for hours now, how the hell is flying a spaceship not a problem for you?"

"I've not been flying it all that much" my companion states blatantly, "I just pointed it in the right direction and let it fly, I mean it's space there's not really all that much to run into. I kept an eye on the collision sensors but other than that I didn't do all that much. On Ilium I had to do some flying but I can handle a few minutes of cruising, any longer or more complicated and we would be in trouble. "

"Oh" I reply "wait a second, what do you mean by we?" I suspiciously ask. With an almost apologetic smile Harvey responds

"If I use the link between your brain and the omni-tool too much or too heavily then there is a chance that it will cause undue strain onto your brain. In layman's terms, I could cause minor brain damage or even an aneurism if I overdo it". Leaning back in my chair I process this information for a few moments before I respond.

"Bugger, there was me hoping you would be doing all the work" I joke, "So does this mean I can't use any tech abilities with this omni-tool?" I ask as I gesture to the device on my left arm.

"Oh yeah, that's fine. You can use it as much as you like, it's only me that shouldn't try that stuff. In fact Cerberus put that in you so you could use it as a weapon. Plus, with the neural link you should be able to control it without having to physically interact with it." I look down at my arm in surprise before realising that it makes sense for me to be able to control it if it has a direct link to my brain. "Tell you what Chris" my companion continues, "how about you have a read through some of the Cerberus reports on your omni-tool, but only use your neural link to control it. I promise it's a skill worth mastering in this universe" Harvey assures me. "Plus your gonna need to learn it sooner or later, and now's as good a chance as any". With an ambivalent shrug I take my counterparts advice and start experimenting with the device grafted to my arm.

I simply sit there staring at the circle on my arm and willing something to happen for what seems like an age before Harvey chimes in.

"It's not gonna work like that" he states "concentrate on the link first, not the device itself. You need to walk before you can run" advises my companion. Taking Harvey's instructions to heart I start trying to find some form of link between me and the omni-tool. After several minutes I was thinking of giving up and asking my companion for more help when suddenly I feel a slight tug at the edge of my awareness and the device on my arm springs to life. I almost jump out of my skin when it happens, I swear one day I'll get used to it. Just before I can continue any further the device switches off again and Harvey chimes in.

"Well done, now do it again", I stare dumbly at my arm for a second before angrily responding

"What the hell dude? Why'd you have to go and do that?" my companion immediately responds

"Because staring at your arm in confusion isn't going to win us any fights, you need to be able to use your omni-tool faster than other people can. You have the advantage of having a direct link to it, the device is literally an extension of your body. But that advantage count s for nothing if you don't know how to use it. Now do it again and learn from it, find out how to work it with intention and not just blind fumbling". I try to remain angry at him but he has a good point, and it's not like there's anything else I can be doing in the middle of space.

I lean back and close my eyes in an attempt to recapture the feeling I had just before the omni-tool activated. It's hard to explain but there's definitely something different throughout my awareness, almost like having an extra limb. The closest description I can give is the feeling of running your finger down a seam and finding a split in the fabric. Once I've found the _split_ I can turn on and off the omni-tool and even run basic tasks with nothing more than a thought. After only a few hours of practice I can activate the torch, I've found my music as well as the other files on my iPod, I can find the beginning sequence of some offensive tech abilities (but haven't tried any out yet), and I've found the files that Harvey downloaded from Cerberus. It's these files that I'm now looking through and I can barely find any rhyme or reason to them, it's amazing that my counterpart was able to find anything relevant throughout all of these. Despite finding the majority of them incomprehensible I doggedly read through them until I find a note that catches my interest.

"Harvey?" I begin uncertainly "Who's subject 113?" a flicker of annoyance flashes across my companions face before he answers

"THAT guy is the reason we were stuck in that facility for so long" he replies shortly

"Really? How so?" I press on

"He escaped." He ignores my shocked expression as he continues "Caused a hell of a mess getting out too, cost them a lot of resources. A lot of men too but they were more concerned with the credit cost than how many died"

"So there's another guy that has escaped?" I ask as a plan forms in my head

"Were you listening to me? Yes he escaped but he killed a lot of people to do that! He's dangerous Chris, we don't want to get mixed up with him" Harvey replies as he waves as if to brush my comment aside.

"I would like to point out that you killed a guy when we escaped." I counter, "Anyway, we can't blame him too harshly, it's Cerberus in the wrong here not us! Plus if he's been out longer than us then maybe he's closer to finding a way home than us, not that it would be that hard to be further along than us considering we escaped yesterday". Sighing Harvey turns to me

"Alright, I hear you Chris but this is dangerous, and we don't even have a clue where to find this subject 113".

"Look, I'm not saying he's the answer to all our problems, all I'm saying is that it's a start. It's a direction other than hiding out in Omega for the rest of my life". Harvey still looks a little disgruntled but he concedes my point.

"I suppose you're right, it's better to have a goal in mind than to just be pissing in the wind" Harvey responds, with a more upbeat tone of voice he continues "We're only a few hours from the relay, after that we should get to Omega in no time." Looking at me in an almost appraising manner he continues, "I suppose if you've got to grips with the omni-tool then you should probably give flying a go, can't have me getting too tired now can we?"

"Whoa, really?" I feel a hint of fear at the thought of being in control of the spaceship.

"Hell yeah, like I said before, I can't be around all the time so it's for the best that you know how to handle this if I have to step out for a while". Harvey moves out the way and I replace him in the pilot's seat. Almost immediately the fear I felt is replaced with exhilaration at controlling the ship. Step by step Harvey gives me a crash course in the Blackbirds controls which turn out to be extremely intuitive and easy to pick up. Looking through the viewport I see a faint blue glow in the far distance and realise that it's the mass relay. Smiling I gun the throttle to full and the ship bounds forward in response.

Omega here we come.

**Late again but I suppose that's my style, slow and short...what an unflattering decription. Just wanted to give a thankyou to winkomaniac again, that dude is awesome. Seriously, give him a hug**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

As much as I love flying the Blackbird it turns out that I don't really have a natural affinity with piloting. I haven't crashed into anything yet (which would be impressive considering there's nothing for us to crash into throughout the vast emptiness of space) but everything I try to make the ship do feels sluggish and delayed, I'm not saying that I'm incompetent, simply that I'm not gonna be an ace pilot anytime soon. Especially considering that our current space flight is at an end, and the Blackbird is currently docking thanks to the help of omega's automatic docking programs in our specified hanger. Thanks to the few days it has taken us to reach Omega I'm feeling a lot more confident in this universe, mainly thanks to the omni-tool that I am can now fluently use with just my intentions. I haven't put it into practice yet but I've had a few dry runs with it and feel pretty good at being able to defend myself. So far I've learnt how to use overload as well as a tazer-like program that allows me to stun or knock out someone with a touch from my omni-tool. Lastly, I've been able to get to grips with a melee option that encases my left arm in an orange, glowing blade. Looking around at my first sight of Omega I'm pretty sure that's gonna be a necessity here.

"Jesus, this place looked a lot more fun in the game..." I let that thought trail off as I stare out the viewport.

The hanger we paid for is little more than a hole carved into the rock of Omega's asteroid, nowhere near the finery of the Normandy's dock. Hell I'll be shocked if I make it ten feet out the ship without getting mugged, killed and completely fucked. Preferably in that order. Steeling myself I strap on my holster, step up to the ship doors and tentatively activate the controls. As the doors slide open I breathe deeply and take a step onto the space station.

"Why do I have to psyche myself up for every door I walk through in this universe?" I mutter as the door seals itself behind me.

"_Well __that__'__s __because __every __door __you__'__ve __come __across __so __far __has __been __a __first __for __you.__"_ Harvey answers in a matter of fact tone, "_First __terrorist __testing __facility, __first __alien __world, __first __spaceship...__"_

"I didn't really step into that one" I interrupt with a mutter.

"...and first wretched hive of scum and villainy", Harvey concludes as I start walking towards the hanger exit.

"Couldn't resist that quote could you?" I mutter jokingly as I absentmindedly roll my shoulder. Despite only being a few days since I hurtled into the Blackbird from a forty foot drop, I feel right as rain. It's awesome that I'm not feeling any effects from the cracked ribs or dislocated shoulder, but it's pretty disconcerting. It's almost like a benchmark of how different I've become in such a short time. I feel completely out of my depth but there's not much else I can do given the circumstances, at least I have an exit route from this place if the need arises. I take one last look at the shuttle before leaving the hanger and Harvey chimes in.

"_Don__'__t __worry __Chris, __the __ship__'__s __safely __locked. __Nobody__'__s __gonna __be __able __to __steal __the __ship __so __we__'__re __always __gonna __have __an __out __if __need __be__" _my companions voice assures me.

"That's more than can be said for most round here" I mutter as I walk past a whimpering salarian, "any clue where we should go first?" almost immediately another blue trail appears in front of me, leading the way.

"_That'll take us to the merchant district, from what I've been able to find on the extranet there's a well recommended mercenaries shop that we can tool you up with" _

"Sounds good to me, I might even be able to relax a little if I've got some space-age armour between me and the scary looking dudes", almost in response a vorscha growls at me as I pass by his resting place and I involuntarily jump away from him.

The rest of the journey was fairly uneventful, just depressing. Almost every street corner or alleyway had someone begging for help or crying in despair. The worst were the individuals that you can tell had given up hope and were blankly staring into space. It's easy not to think of those in need if you don't see the suffering but it's hard to ignore when it's all around you. I actually start reaching for some credit chips to give out before Harvey stops me.

"_Do __that __and __every __beggar __on __Omega __will __be __pestering __you __for __a __handout, __and __even __worse, __the __muggers __will __see __you __as __more __of __a __target. __I __know __it__'__s __cruel __but __we __have __enough __troubles __at __the __minute __without __taking __more __onto __our __shoulders.__"_ My companion warns. He's right, I know he's right. But it doesn't stop the guilt creeping in and settling in the pit of my stomach. Not too long later I have the merchant district in sight, in fact the area is beginning to look familiar, just as it did on Ilium. I suppose that means I'm getting close to the playable area in Mass Effect 2. Just as this thought comes into my head I hear a pained grunt coming from the alley to my right. As I look down it I see a turian with a dusty white face backed against the wall, facing a pack of five vorscha. A rifle, presumably belonging to the turian, has been shattered on the floor and he is left wielding a large knife against his assailants. Before Harvey warns me off I clumsily pull my sidearm from its holster and wave it uncertainly at the vorscha.

"Back away from him!" I shout, in what is meant to be a commanding tone but comes out as more of a stuttering warble. One of the larger vorscha looks at me dismissively and hisses, causing two of the others to turn towards me. Looking more imposing the closer they get to me I notice that one is wearing a makeshift set of armour while the other prefers to show off his bare chest, criss-crossed with scars

"You leave now!" the armoured one yells threateningly, "this one is _our_ prey!" before I can voice any sort of any response scar-chest starts sprinting at me with surprising speed and bowls me off my feet. I land on my back with an audible grunt but I'm still gripping my pistol, whether that was due to an intentional plan or fearful instinct I couldn't tell you. Either way, before the vorscha can take another step I fire a volley of panicked shots in his direction taking him off his feet. I stare almost dumbfounded at the pistol in my hand before the armoured vorscha kicks the pistol from my hand and drags me to my feet. Rocking unsteadily under the onslaught I try to bring my arms up to defend myself from the flurry of blows reigning down upon me. When an opening finally presents itself my response is almost instinctual as my left arm darts forward covered in an orange glow. The omni-tool blade slides in far too easily and the sensation is horrifying, but not as much as the look of shock mingled with despair on the vorscha's face. I fall backwards as the body slumps to the ground and twitches a few times as a copious amount of blood spreads across the floor. Looking up from the body I'm treated to a scene of the other attackers lying dead on the floor as the turian saunters over to one of the bodies to retrieve his, presumably, thrown knife.

"Thanks for the distraction human, these damn vorscha are getting to be something of a pestilence", the turian calmly retrieves his weapon and cleans it on the body he removed it from. "I'm beginning to think Aria should do something about keeping them in line, them breeding this quickly means that they could be a real problem if left unchecked". Standing up he then walks over to the remains of his rifle, muttering obscenities as he collects them and fails to combine the pieces again. Sighing with frustration the turian gets back to his feet and walks over to me, concealing his anger at the rifle with a smile. "The names Gavorn by the way, and I owe you a drink" he smiles while extending his hand. I give him a half-hearted handshake, due to still reeling from the fight, and weakly smile back. "Tell you what, next time you're heading to Afterlife tell 'em Gavorn sent you, it should get you in, and if you're in there in about an hour I can get you that drink I owe you". With a final pat on the back the turian saunters out of the alley and disappears into the throng of Omega's passerby's. After a few moments of staring at the dead vorscha I can feel Harvey prodding at the edge of my consciousness.

"_Chris, __it__'__s __ok. __I __know __killing __these __things __was __tough __but __it __needed __to __be __done. __You __probably __saved __that __Gavorn __guys __life_".

"From the way Gavorn took out those three with just a knife I reckon he would have been fine without me. Don't worry though I'm not gonna go all emo over this, killing them was the only real option here. It's just a shitty feeling to contend with, killing something sentient. I'll be fine though, just need a few minutes is all".

In response to this I can feel Harvey's concern replaced with approval and after a few more minutes to collect my thoughts I start to follow the blue trail again and after only a few minutes I find myself surrounded by merchants and shops. The more enterprising of whom are waving wares in people's faces and shouting various deals that according to them I should apparently question their sanity for. Despite the majority of these stores having flashing signs and gimmicky wares the blue trail leads me to a fairly nondescript hole in the wall of a shop. The first thing I notice about the shop is that it's clean, considering the rest of Omega this already sets it apart. Looking around the place I can see a large display terminal, exhibiting all of the wares available. On one side of that is the changing rooms and on the other is a mostly disinterested looking Krogan that, upon meeting my eyes, gestures towards the terminal and goes back to the important job of looking disinterested. It doesn't take long to organise a set of armour and weapons, especially with Harvey surfing the extranet for reviews on what would be the best available to me. Equipping the gear is a whole other matter, where choosing and buying the items took a little less than 15 minutes it took double that to figure out how to put on the armour and holster the weapons accordingly. In the end I settled for a set of Guardian heavy armour, a Vindicator assault rifle, a Viper sniper rifle and an Armageddon shotgun, I chose that one simply on how cool the name sounded which of course led to Harvey calling me various unpleasant names. I decided on keeping the Cerberus pistol after its faithful service against the vorscha thugs previously. Looking at myself in the changing room mirror I have to admit that I actually look quite imposing, heavily armoured and loaded for bear. The illusion would be complete if I had even the slightest clue how to work half these damn guns. Or even walk comfortably in this space suit, feels like I'm gonna topple over with all this equipment weighing down on me. After paying the still disinterested krogan I step out of the shop before pausing for a moment as a realisation hits me.

"Wait a second, what the hell are we doing next?" I query as I have no clue what our next move is.

"_Well, __you __want __to __find __this __subject __113 __guy __right?__So __we __need __to __find __someone __with __an __information __network __that __can __track __him __down. __Luckily, __you__'__ve __just __gotten __yourself __an __in __with __one __such __individual_ "

"Really? Gavorn didn't really strike me as an information network kind of guy"

"_Not __Gavorn __Chris, __the __club __that __you__'__ve __got __an __invite __to. __Or __more __specifically __the __owner, __Aria __T__'__Loak_". Even though I've never been more equipped to face danger than I am right now, I suddenly felt nervous.

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long, things are just getting a bit manic these days I'm getting very close to achieving something I've been working towards for a long time. Unfortunately that means less time to write, I'm still going to keep at it, even if I can only get 100 words done every few weeks. Still, hopefully the next update won't take half a year to materialise again, again sorry for the wait and I hope you this chapter makes up for it just a little bit**


End file.
